


soft spoken with a broken jaw

by okliv



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Best friends actually, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Bond Shenanigans, Friends to Lovers, Rey Needs A Hug, Yeah that's right, Young Ben Solo, force bond in au, living in Rhode Island, party on the beach, teen nostalgia, they love the red hot chili peppers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-11-12 14:50:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18012932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okliv/pseuds/okliv
Summary: Best friends and next door neighbors Rey and Ben were delighted to find out that they were each other's force bond connections when they turned 13. Now that they're 17 and living across the state from each other, the force bond comes in handy more than ever before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Long drive. Call me if you wanna chat.**

Rey shot out the text and shifted gears into drive, pulling her shitty old Prius out of the driveway. She popped in a Red Hot Chili Peppers CD and pulled onto Route 2, north towards Providence. The highway turned into a blur in front of her as she zoned out, nodding along to Scar Tissue.

 _Where is he?_ Rey thought to herself, resting her head against the seat as she cut some slowpoke old lady off. _Get out of the fast lane if you’re not gonna go fast, you bat._

Aaaand, suddenly. There he was. Ben Solo in the passenger seat, singing his lungs out.

“BLOOD LOSS IN A BATHROOM STALL, A SOUTHERN GIRL WITH A SCARLET DRAWL” he belted, winking at Rey.

“Jesus Christ Solo, scare me a little harder while I’m going 85 on the highway why don’t you,” Rey said smiling, watching Ben out of the corner of her eye as he did some intense air drumming. “I take it you’re home alone?”

“No, I wanted to perform for Han. He loves 90’s rock, as you know.”

Rey snorted. Good luck trying to catch Han listening to anything besides deep Southern country. Just one of the million ways that he and Ben were complete opposites. You wouldn’t even know they were related if you saw Ben in his classic black v-neck, black jeans, and black Converse next to Han in his blue jeans and cowboy boots.

“So, where you headed?” Ben asked in between air guitar riffs. “Coming to visit little old me?”

Rey sighed. “No, I wish. I have to go to Providence to pick up my mom from the train station. She’s coming home from a rehab thing in Boston. Gonna be a long drive home.”

Ben let out a low whistle. “Geez, that fucking sucks. Can you just leave her there?”

“Yeah, right. Give her one more reason to scream her fucking head off at me? I’m good.”

Ben sat quietly for a minute. “Well, good news for you, I’m all yours for the next hour. You get the treat of these pipes. SCAR TISSUE THAT I WISH YOU SAW…” he leaned over, waiting for her to finish the line.

Rey rolled her eyes and sang back, equally off-key and terribly. “SARCASTIC MISTER KNOW IT ALL,” she giggled. “That line makes me think of you,” she chanced, tearing her eyes from the car in front of her for a second to glance at Ben.

He scoffed. “Suuure, I’m the know it all. Uh huh.”

“Takes one to know one,” Rey said, smirking.

They sang the rest of the song full out, screaming hard enough that the people in the next car started staring, and of course Rey had to race them for a few miles for revenge, Ben cheering her on as if it was a Fast and Furious movie.

“Got ‘em! Ten points for Rey,” Ben whooped as she finally cut the pests off and sped away.

Rey cracked the window to let some air in and grinned. There was nothing she loved like driving on the highway, no cars ahead, loud music all around, and Ben riding shotgun. Thank god he was her force connection. Everybody had one, and Rey was afraid every day growing up that it would be her mother. For most people, it was someone in the immediate family, someone they could call when they needed them most. But when they turned 13, Rey and Ben were delighted to find that they were each others’ force connections. They were already next door neighbors, but being able to just appear in front of each other made everything so much more convenient. Especially when Rey’s mother put her under house arrest. Ben could just put his music on extra loud, they could crack their windows, and Ben could will himself into Rey’s presence. She never had to be alone again.

Something she was extra grateful for today.

“So what’s up with the squad?” Ben asked. “How’s Finn and Rose and all them?”

“They’re good,” Rey replied. “I honestly haven’t seen them a ton this summer cause I’ve been working so much-”

“Still at Brickley’s?”

“Oh, yes. The money is insane, so I’ve been picking up a lot of shifts.”

“I believe it. That ice cream is like crack.”

“Yeah, and we’re turning a lot of families into addicts.” Yikes. Too close to home, and it was out of her own mouth. Ben didn’t seem to notice her disdain, so she kept talking.

“But anyway, they’re good. Rose has been busy at her camp job at the Y, and Finn has been hanging out with his new boyfriend Poe like every day. We’re all excited for senior year.” Rey paused. “I wish you were graduating at SKHS, though.”

Ben looked out his window. “Yeah, me too. Rogers High sucks ass. Everyone is so lame.”

They only lived thirty minutes away now, but it felt like a thousand miles. Especially with Ben not having a car, and Rey’s chaotic schedule and mother’s demands. They hardly ever saw each other outside the force connection.

“Why, cause they wear colors? Or maybe because they actually have fun on the weekends?” Rey teased.

“Hey, I have fun on the weekends. I happen to enjoy playing Call of Duty alone in my basement.”

“I know you do,” Rey mumbled. She rolled down the car windows all the way. “August feels good today,” she said, propping her head on her free arm and leaning out a bit. She could almost smell the salt in the ocean air.

“You look pretty today, Rey.” Her stomach flipped. _What?_   She leaned back in the car to find Ben looking at her with a goofy grin.

“Excuse me? The fuck are you saying over there?”

He laughed. “What, you do! All cinematic and stuff with the wind blowin’ in your hair.” God, his voice had sure gotten deep. He made a fake camera with his hands and pretended to film her.

“Shut the fuck up,” Rey shook her head. She was only wearing an old cropped tee and some athletic shorts. It was too hot to wear anything cute.

She looked at Ben for a minute. “You’ve got a little wind in the hair action going on yourself, Solo.” His thick, dark hair was aflutter in the breeze, making him look like some kind of knight riding a horse in the meadow. Or something.

“Han keeps telling me to cut it, so I’m growing it out.” He ran a hand through it, trying and failing to put it into some kind of place.

Rey snorted. “Atta boy.”

They rode in silence for a while. Well, not silence so much as the dulcet guitar strums of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It felt good to have Ben sitting beside her. Rey always felt at ease with her best friend right there. Even though they had their force bond… he felt so far away sometimes.

“Wanna come to the end of summer party on Saturday?” she asked, on the slim chance he might say yes. “It’s in Narragansett, at one of Finn’s friends’ house. On the beach!” Rey cringed as soon as she said it. Ben hated the beach.

She could tell he was considering it for a minute. “Yeah… maybe,” he replied.

“You sound wishy washy. If you don’t want to come, it’s totally fine, I just wanted to invite you.”

“Oh, so you’re saying you want me there? In that case…”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Solo. It makes no difference to me if you come or not. I just thought it could be fun. Maybe. Not. I don’t know.”

“Fess up, Rey. You miss me.” He stared at her with a shit-eating, all-knowing grin.

She stared back for just a second too long. A not so friendly honk let her know that she’d drifted outside the lane.

“Fuck off!” she yelled back, straightening the car out. Just in time to notice that her exit was up ahead. She got off the highway and a pit formed in her stomach.

Ben noticed the car slowing down. “We here?” he asked, looking a little worried himself.

“Almost.” Rey maneuvered through the streets of Providence, not quite ready for what was ahead. She clicked the music off and found a parking spot, clutching the wheel even after the car was parked.

She was a whole five minutes early. Just enough time to meet the train at the platform. Her eyes welled up. She looked at Ben.

“I don’t wanna go,” she whispered. She knew she sounded childish. Probably looked it, too. She had kind of a round face for a 17 year-old. Ben’s jaw tightened.

“I wish I could go with you.”

“Me too,” Rey said softly, blinking a single tear out of the corner of one eye. She shook her head. “God, this is some pussy shit. Ugh.” She inhaled hard and ran her hands through her hair, quickly looking like she hadn’t even cried at all.

She opened the car door. “Time to go, I guess.”

“Text me whenever,” Ben said, looking at her with empathy. “Maybe I’ll see you Saturday.”

Rey smiled and got out of the car. “Yeah, I’d like that,” she said, stretching out and squinting into the bright sunlight. “You were right, Solo. I miss you.”

When she looked back into the car, hoping to catch a flicker of that big smile, Ben was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Rey had gotten a little too drunk. “A little” was being generous, actually. Rey had gotten way too drunk.

Ben scowled down at the three-quarters full Natty Lite in his hand. _Why did I even agree to come to this stupid party at all?_

 _Oh yeah. Cause of that_ , he thought, lifting his gaze to find Rey spinning and dancing on the edge of a group of equally wasted high schoolers.

She looked beautiful, but then again, Rey always looked beautiful. Her black bikini and ripped denim shorts were really making him notice just how gorgeous she was, though. He scowled again.

 _Cut the shit, Solo. Don’t fuck anything up_. He had almost fucked up in the car the other day, God, telling her she was pretty? He needed to get a fucking grip on these hormones, or whatever it was that was making him say stupid (but true) shit.

Rey bounced over to him, swaying on her feet and spilling some of that ungodly red punch out of the edge of its matching red cup.

Her body kept moving, dancing, if you’d call it that, but her eyes stilled as they narrowed to look at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked, probably thinking she was whispering but definitely screaming.

Ben forced a grin. “Nothing! Are you having fun?” She deserved to have fun, who was he to hold her back? He wouldn’t say he was actually miserable, no, not tonight, even though they would joke about it tomorrow.

But man oh man, he wanted to leave. He hated holding that stupid beer and not being able to drink it, since he had to drive Rey home. He hated the feeling of sand getting into his Vans. He hated the small talk with people he used to see every day. His old friends from SKHS were nice, but tonight left him wondering why they had even been friends in the first place. They had nothing to talk about. Besides Rey. Who was staring up at him with worried eyes.

“YOU'RE not having fun,” she said quite loudly, pressing her small palm into the middle of his chest. “I can, like, _feel_ you. You wanna go.”

Jesus. He grabbed her hand and pulled it off his chest, glancing around to make sure no one overheard that. Everyone seemed too absorbed in their own worlds to have noticed.

Ben and Rey didn’t really publicize that they were each other’s force connections. It was kind of weird that they were. People usually assumed it was a sibling or trusted parent, but since Ben and Rey didn’t have either, they ended up with each other. Which had been working out great, until… recently.

Ben prided himself on his unbelievable amount of self-control when it came to Rey. Ever since he moved away a year ago, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He only initiated their force connection a few times, when he was truly in desperate need of it, but he let her control it for the most part. If he had it his way, he’d use it every minute of every day.

Sure, he had let himself slip up in a few moments of weakness. He’d only watched her sleep once though. Once is nothing.

He shook these thoughts out of his and looked back down at Rey. “No, I don’t wanna leave. But can we just, like… go on a walk or something for a sec?” It was too hot by the bonfire, the music was too loud, too many people were bumping into them.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Rey said, nodding, grabbing his hand and pulling.

Her hand felt so small in his. Soft.

As soon as they were out of the crowd, she dropped his hand and galloped in front of him, walking backwards to face him. “Did you get to say hi to Rose and Finn?” Ben nodded as she carried on without taking a breath.

“Me and Rose are gonna be in calculus together, thank GOD, because I seriously am gonna need someone to cheat off of in there, and Finn, oh my god, did you meet Finn’s man? Poe? What did you think?”

Apparently it didn’t really matter what he thought, cause Rey just kept going. “I like him I guess, like Finn is happy so that’s all that really matters, but don’t you think he’s a little full of himself? He kind of has a big head. Not literally. Well, maybe literally, let me think about his head for a min-”

And with that she tripped on a rock and went tumbling into the sand. That godforsaken red punch spilled all over her. As she lay in the sand, laughing at the sky, Ben wanted to lick that punch off her bare stomach. _What?_ No he didn’t. No, no, nope. He willed the thought out of his mind.

“Jesus Christ Rey, are you okay?” he crouched down beside her.

“Dude, I’m fine. I don’t feel shit. I get why my mom likes to shoot up so much now.” Her eyes went distant.

Ben held in a cringe. “You didn’t, um…”

“No, dipshit, I didn’t do any drugs. I mean, I think I smoked like once, but no, I didn’t do coke or anything.”

Ben let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Okay, I, uh, wouldn’t care if you did, I just wanted to know.”

She leaned up onto her elbows. “You wouldn’t care?” Her eyes didn’t betray a thing.

He scrambled. “No, obviously I would care, I just mean, like, I wouldn’t judge you or anything, but I would be worried for you.”

Rey grinned and punched him in the shoulder. “Relax, Solo.” She fell back into the sand. “Stars look good tonight.”

They really did. Ben sat down next to her and looked up. “Big Dipper,” Rey mumbled, pointing at nothing.

Ben snorted. “Yeah?” he raised an eyebrow at Rey.

She laughed, deep from her chest, and closed her eyes. “I don’t fucking know. I’m so wasted it’s all spinning anyways.”

They sat in silence and looked up at the sky for a little while. Some shitty pop music boomed from a distance, muffled by the sound of the ocean waves.

“You wanna go home?” Rey asked. Ben had kind of thought she was asleep. He looked over at her, staring up at him with sleepy half-lidded eyes.

Might as well. She wasn’t in the party mood anymore anyway, and he did not want to turn that offer down. “Yeah, let’s go.” He stood and offered a hand to pull her up.

She shook her head with a stubborn grin gracing her face. “Nope. Carry me.” She shot both arms out, waiting to be lifted.

Ben grimaced. He glanced around, but the party was way far behind them, and no one was around. He didn’t know why he did that, when in reality, there was nothing he wanted more than to be Rey’s knight in shining armor, everyone watching as he carried her to safety.

But no one was watching, so he let himself relax. For once.

“You’re a brat,” he grunted, scooping her up into his arms.

“You’re a gentleman,” she said, grinning wickedly. “I expected a firefighter lift, you know, toss me over the shoulder, but no, this is much nicer.” She tightened her grip around his neck and let her head drop onto his shoulder.

“Can’t see if you’re about to puke all over my back if I have you that way. At least now if I can tell you’re gonna vom, I can just drop and run.”

Rey giggled. “Honestly can’t blame you for that.”

He carried her all the way to the parking lot, where he had parked Han’s big old Chevy truck. “Should I drop you in the back? Stargaze all the way home?”

“Yeah!” Rey replied, not matching his sarcasm. Her eyes looked far away. She wasn’t sobering up as much as Ben had estimated.

He somehow managed to shift her around in his arms enough to get the car door open and drop her into the passenger seat. Her arms lingered around his neck for a beat too long. Her green eyes were fixed boldly on him, making their way over his face, eyes to nose to lips.

Ben pulled himself away, shutting her car door behind him. He leaned up against the side of the truck for a second, taking a deep breath of the ocean air. His stomach was in his throat.

Rey was going to kill him one of these days.

When he got into the driver’s seat, she had her head leaned against the window and eyes shut. No way could she have fallen asleep that fast. But when he poked a finger into her tan shoulder, she didn’t budge. Alright then.

Ben turned on the radio, leaving the volume low but loud enough for Death Cab for Cutie to make its way through the speakers, giving him just enough to keep himself awake.

When he pulled into Rey’s driveway, facing that big, nearly empty, falling apart house, he was certain that she was asleep. Soft snores filled the silence. He grabbed her shoulder and shook a little.

“Wake up, you’re home.” Rey nodded awake.

“Oh shit. Sorry I knocked out on you.”

“It’s fine. Your snoring is cute.” _Why would he say that? Shit, shit, shit._

She smiled, thank god. “Glad you think so.” Her face shifted as she turned her gaze back on her house, white sideboards a mess of chipped paint. “Want to come in? Hang out a while?”

He wanted to, oh he wanted to so badly. But it was so late, he was nearly falling asleep himself. And Han needed the car back tonight. He had made that much very clear.

“I can’t. I have to drive back tonight, and if I come in I don’t know if I’ll be able to get back in here and make it home.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Rey said through hazy eyes. She had to still be drunk. “I asked if you _want_ to come in.”

This was a new kind of teasing. One that shot some unwelcome blood straight to Ben’s dick. He squirmed in place and tried to shake the feeling.

“Yeah. Of course I want to come in.”

She turned to face him. “Then drive home. And then come in.”

Oh. That’s what she wanted. He could work with that.

“Um, yeah alright. It’s gonna be a little while though, can you stay awake?”

“I’ll manage,” Rey replied. “If I’m asleep when you come, just wake me up though.”

“Okay.”

Rey heaved a sigh and got out of the car, grabbing her towel and bag of shit from the backseat. “I don’t feel so good. Drive fast so you can call soon.”

Ben smiled. “I will.” He shifted the car into reverse and started to back out as Rey walked the dirt path to her front door.

He pressed on the brakes. “Hey, Rey,” he called out the window. She turned around, illuminated by his headlights. He bit back a laugh.

“You might wanna shower while I’m gone. Got a little something going on here.” He gestured to her stomach.

Rey looked down at her bare stomach, stained red and all sticky from that damn punch.

She flipped him off, tripping over herself as she stormed into her house.

Ben could barely stop laughing all the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned for Ben force bond-ing himself right into Rey's bed. this night ain't over. 
> 
> thank you for the kind comments :) they truly make my day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a long awaited (mostly just by me) part 2 to this night!

Rey stared at herself in the foggy bathroom mirror. Her stomach still had a pink tint to it. Stupid red dye #7. Her eyes did look awful… empty? Lights are on, but no one’s home type of look. 

She flipped her head over and shook a towel through her hair, squeezing until thick drops of water smacked onto the tile floor. The room spun when she stood back up, swaying on her feet and wrapping the towel around her. She blinked hard and tried to focus her vision. No such luck. 

Rey’s bare feet softly pattered against the rug as she made her way back into her room. Her mom had knocked out on the couch downstairs, all loud snores and mouth hanging open illuminated by the blue light of the TV. Still, Rey didn’t want to make a sound. Didn’t dare awaken the beast. 

She shut her bedroom door, clicking the lock into place and throwing herself down onto the bed. Laying down made it worse. The room was spinning. Rey tried to focus on her doorknob to make it stop, squinting hard to try to focus. It kept slipping away. Rey groaned. 

She rolled over and grabbed at the blankets for her phone, pressing the home button to light up the screen. Too bright, she thought, squinting at it as she tried to find Ben’s contact. 

His contact photo was awful cute. It was Ben’s face, close up, squinting in the sun, some random day she had driven him to the beach last year and made him sit and watch the sun set with her. He would always go with him wherever she wanted. She knew he hated the beach, but he would spend time with her no matter what. He’d never say it, but Rey thought the beach was growing on him. 

Pressing call, Rey brought the phone to her ear. Only one ring went by before Ben answered.

“Hey,” he said, all raspy and deep. Since when was his voice so deep? It shouldn’t be allowed. That rumble was doing something to her.

“Hey,” Rey replied, whispering and trying to sound like she wasn’t thinking about how cute Ben had looked tonight. Black tee stretched tight over his… built shoulders? Yeah, since when was he built?

“Are you home?” she asked, realizing she had no idea. He was supposed to call her, but she just couldn’t resist. 

“Yeah, just got here. Hold on.”

Rey clutched the phone tight to her ear and listened to his nervous breathing. She could practically see him tiptoeing through the house, past Han asleep on the couch. She heard Ben creep up the stairs and into his room, shutting the door behind him. 

“Okay. Hanging up. I’m gonna come over now, okay?”

“Okay,” she breathed, hearing Ben fumble with the phone until the call finally beeped to a close. Only then did Rey realize she was only wearing a wet towel around her middle. 

Scrambling off her bed and nearly vomiting at her own speed, Rey leaned into her closet and grabbed the first t-shirt she saw, throwing it over her head and discarding the towel onto the floor. She shimmied so that the shirt fell over her body, covering her ass, thank god. 

When she turned back around, Ben was appearing in front of her. His eyes quickly darted up to her face from somewhere lower. 

“Hey,” she said, trying to sound casual over the sound of her heart beating in her ears. 

Ben smirked at the edge of his mouth. “Hey again,” he replied, taking a few steps towards Rey. She stumbled a few steps towards him. 

“I’m glad you made it home. And that Han didn’t kill you for how late it is.”

Ben chuckled. “Yeah, it makes no difference if I got home at 8:30 or at 2 in the morning when he’s been asleep since like seven.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his flannel pants. He must’ve changed. Those were the same pants he used to wear when Rey would go over to his house late at night as a kid, hoping to play some of Ben’s cool video games or just to escape the hell that was her own house. 

She sat down on the bed. “Yeah, figures. You can sit you know,” she patted the bed beside her. 

Ben hesitantly lowered himself onto the pink comforter. “Did you have fun tonight? I hope I didn’t make you leave to early or anything.”

Rey smiled. He was the only person that had ever cared so much about her. It made her heart swell in her chest and a warmth spring in her eyes. “Yeah, I had a blast. Thanks for coming with me. I know it probably wasn’t your ideal Saturday night, but I was really happy you were there.” She chanced a look into his brown eyes. They were soft, looking back at her own. 

“I’m just glad I got to spend time with you.” He got quiet after that, fiddling with the seams of his pants. “It’s been kind of hard not having you around recently.”

Rey sighed. “Yeah. For me, too. I miss you, Ben.” She blinked hard as her eyes got even warmer and a bit wetter. 

“I miss you too, Rey.” Her heart ached, breaking and fixing itself all in a sentence.  

She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Ben moved his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Their breathing fell into rhythm as they clung to each other in the dark.

“You’re not alone.” 

It was barely more than a whisper, but Rey knew what she heard. She lifted her head to look up at Ben’s face, resting her chin on his shoulder. His full lips quivered, and his eyes darted to meet hers. 

“Neither are you,” she breathed back, unable to break her eyes from his. He inhaled hard, lips parting at the sudden breath. 

It must’ve been the darkness of the room, or maybe the smattering of glow-in-the-dark stars still hanging onto the ceiling, or maybe it was the way Ben smelled like the ocean and home. Whatever it was, Rey couldn’t stop herself. She kissed him. 

She felt a moment of shock as her lips met his own, a second of paralyzation against her mouth. Only a second, though. 

Ben’s lips were soft against her own, and they quickly moved like heaven. He breathed his warmth into her as he deepened the kiss, and Rey finally knew he felt it too. His tongue swiped across her lower lip, and the lightest moan left her as she pressed closer against his chest. 

Ben’s free hand shot up to cradle Rey’s face, thumb stroking her cheekbone as she moved against him. His grip around her waist tightened as Rey swung her legs across his lap. She leaned back, laying against the bed so that he hovered over her, never stopping his adorations.

God knows how much time passed, it could’ve been an eternity and Rey wouldn’t have had enough. At least, her mind wanted it to keep going forever, making out with Ben in the bed they’d sat in a million times before with his strong arms around her and sand in his hair trickling onto the pillowcase. 

But something about Ben’s tongue in her mouth and the horizontal motion started to make the room spin again, and before she knew it, Rey had to push Ben off of her. She ran to the bathroom, feet knowing where to go as her mind reeled. 

She shut the door behind her and immediately retched into the toilet, getting out all that damn rum and Coke. Rey had no idea how loud she was being, what Ben could possibly be thinking, but she was mortified. After what felt like an eternity of pure disgust, Rey stood and looked at herself in the mirror for the second time that night. Her lips were pink and swollen, from the vomit or the making out, who knew. 

She splashed cold water on her face and toweled off, cursing under her breath. “Fucking idiot, you just fucking blew it, say goodbye to your best fucking friend you stupid bitch.” She didn’t know if she was referring to the kiss or the vomit.

A soft knock made its way through the wooden door. “Hey, Rey? You okay?”

Oh god, he followed her. And probably heard her being so fucking messy. 

Rey opened the door. She tried to smile at him, and it wasn’t too hard when she was how genuinely worried he looked. But quickly she remembered that yeah, she definitely blew everything. 

“I’m fine. Uh… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” His brow crinkled. “Don’t be sorry. I was afraid I did something.”

Rey scoffed. “Not you. The rum did something.” 

He grinned. “Oh, okay. Good.” The man she had seen a minute ago, taking control of her with the hint of an erection pressing into her thighs, was all gone, with nothing but boy left standing front of her, looking as sheepish as she had ever seen him. 

Rey grabbed his hand. Such a large hand. They made their way back into her room, and she pulled Ben down onto the bed after her. 

He pressed his forehead against hers when they laid down, two lanky bodies filling up a rickety twin bed. Rey looked into his eyes for a moment, almost leaning in closer, but hesitating.

“I don’t want to kiss you after being so gross,” she whispered.

“Yeah, frankly I don’t want to kiss your puke mouth either.”

Rey giggled, threading a hand up into his thick dark hair. She pressed her hand against his face. His skin was awful soft. A lack of sun damage or something.

Ben shifted against the sheets. “I feel like I’m not gonna be able to be here much longer,” he said, a streak of panic in his voice that only Rey would ever be able to catch. She nodded against him.

“That’s okay,” she said in what she hoped was a comforting tone. “We can talk more tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Ben hummed. He laced an arm around her back and pulled Rey tight into his chest. “I’m gonna be better,” he mumbled. “Talking to you more and stuff. I don’t want you to feel like I’m not there. Cause I’m always there. Like, when I close my eyes, it’s just you.”

Rey’s heart swelled in her chest, and she burrowed further into Ben, enveloped by the warmth through his cotton t-shirt. “Okay, Ben. Me too. I’ve always got you.”

She felt his heart jump and smiled. “Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“Just hold me until you have to go, okay?”

His grip tightened. “Yeah, Rey. No letting go.”

Rey fell asleep to the steady beat of Ben’s heart. The strongest heart she’d ever heard. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> something compelled me to open this google doc tonight, and i'm glad i did. i love these two. whole heart. 
> 
> now how do i integrate rey jumping onto kylo's ship in the desert? hm.

**Author's Note:**

> idk if this will end up having any plot or if it will just be force bond scenes - I just love the idea of besties Rey and Ben having their force bond as angsty high schoolers. but don't worry, as the tags suggest, this will be ~friends to lovers~
> 
> they already love each other sm though, like come on


End file.
